Mixed Signals
by Clearly Odd
Summary: Tulio is fed up with the mixed signals Miguel is sending him and is out to find out what's going on.  However, when he stumbles upon his partner in a rather compromising position, things make quite a bit more sense.  Miguel/Tulio, very brief Miguel/OC.


Mixed Signals

Disclaimer: I do not own The Road to El Dorado or anything else recognizable, for that matter.

Author's Note: Eep! I am excited/nervous! My very first El Dorado story… Not much to say on this one, but I hope you all enjoy it! Takes place post-movie.

-/-/-

Tulio sighed and leaned forward onto the bar, taking another swig of whatever was in his mug- he was never entirely sure what he was drinking because Miguel usually ordered it. The dark-haired man couldn't remember when that tradition had started, but it was something he trusted Miguel to do; one of the many, many things he trusted Miguel to do… And therein lay his problem. He trusted his partner with so many things, relied on his partner for so many things, _needed_ his partner- needed _Miguel_- for so many things, that he really wasn't sure what he would do without the other man if it were to come down to it.

When the thought finally occurred to him a short while after returning to Spain, it had shocked him. He hadn't realized he'd let his defenses down so much. And yet, he didn't really mind. Which was, perhaps, why he hadn't really minded when he, Miguel, and Altivo had parted ways with Chel. She was an intelligent woman who had gotten a handle on Spanish quickly and had enough money and know-how to go on whatever adventures she wanted. Both she and Tulio had pretended it was because she wanted her freedom that she left, but it was entirely possible that she felt she just couldn't find a good place in between her lover and his… _partner_. They crossed paths now and then and, last they'd seen, she was doing fine.

But Chel wasn't the topic here, Tulio reminded himself. It was Miguel. Unruly, adventurous, enthusiastic, insatiable, lovable, wonderful, handsome… Tulio cleared his throat and took a gulp of the sweet alcohol in his mug- not as sweet as what they'd had in El Dorado, but good enough to be considered celebratory. This was about Miguel. And the damned mixed signals he'd been sending Tulio.

Speaking of which, where had that man gone? Not 15 minutes ago, he'd been hanging all over Tulio. Smiling, laughing, draping his arm over the taller man's shoulders, whispering in his ear, occasionally tugging on the dark pony tail (which irritated Tulio, really it did), and, really, if you wanted to label it, _flirting_ quite heavily with Tulio. And then, suddenly, he disappeared; pulled into the crowd by some brunette in a blouse that hung nearly as low as Miguel's shirt. Which Tulio would have found very attractive some months ago. Back then, he would have been scowling because Miguel was lucky enough to charm girls with his roguish smile, large green eyes, and uncommon blonde hair. Now he was scowling because Miguel had left him to dance with some tart.

Finally, Tulio turned his back to the bar, swiveling around on his stool to glare at the crowd of merry-makers. Originally, the plan had been to come to this fine establishment and celebrate their latest surprisingly fruitful scheme, but Tulio's cheerful mood had disappeared when Miguel had. That had been happening quite a lot, lately. The blonde man would lavish his friend with attention and then, rather suddenly, wander off with some female only to show up at their rented room the next day, ruffled and more cheerful than usual. The sudden switches in behavior were driving Tulio crazy and he'd had just about enough. Sighing again, he turned and grabbed the bartender's attention. "Hey, have you seen the man I came in with?" He asked.

"Blondie?" The barkeep quirked an eyebrow as he poured out a glass of some alcohol for another patron.

"Yeah."

The bartender shrugged. "Saw him dancing around a while ago, but I haven't seen him since. Been busy." He replied shortly.

Scowling, Tulio looked back out over the crowd in time to see a flash of familiar blond hair disappearing out the door. Rather than giving the snarky reply he'd planned, Tulio dropped the pesetas he owed the man for the drinks on the bar with a muttered 'thanks' and headed for the door, himself. He'd definitely had enough of this sneaking-off business and it was time to find out what, exactly, was going on with Miguel.

After struggling through the crowd, Tulio left the bar almost a minute behind Miguel and his companion for the night. Glancing around, Tulio tried his best to think like his blonde counterpart- no easy task, considering how different the two were from each other- and wondered where he could have gone. It took a moment of deliberation, but he set off for the shadier end of the street, where most of the light came from the full moon. Walking slowly, he might have passed one half-moonlit alley had it not been for the tell-tale noises emitting from it. Praying to whatever deities he could think of that it was indeed Miguel he'd found and not some random copulating couple, Tulio headed slowly down the half dark alley. "Miguel?" He called quietly, so as not to catch the attention of anyone on the street.

Three things happened almost simultaneously at that point. Miguel's voice permeated the darkness with a confused "Tulio?", another distinctly male voice followed shortly after Miguel's with a quiet and harsh swear, and Tulio realized one of the assumptions he'd made about his partner was definitely incorrect.

Before Tulio could get any more words out, however, a familiar figure emerged from the shadows. Miguel looked sheepish and disheveled as he glanced up at his long-time partner. He appeared to be searching for something in Tulio's face and, whatever it was, he didn't find it. "You'd better go, Phillip." He said quickly over his shoulder.

A horrified-looking man, about their age, came into the light behind Miguel. He was taller than the blonde but a bit shorter than Tulio, with cropped brown hair and nervous, dark eyes. "Miguel…" He started, looking up at Tulio.

"He won't tell anyone. Really." The blonde assured him, sounding for a moment like his usual chipper self. "Now, I'll see you later."

Phillip nodded, though Miguel couldn't see him, cast one more wary glance at Tulio, and was gone. Silence reigned long after the echoes of the man's footsteps had faded. Finally, "Who was that?" Tulio questioned.

The blonde seemed momentarily surprised by the question, then shrugged. "Someone I meet up with… occasionally, when we're in this part of the city."

It was quiet again for a stretch time. "Why didn't you ever tell me?" Tulio asked at last, gearing up for an argument.

Miguel snorted. "Well, it's hardly a socially acceptable lifestyle, now is it?"

"I've known you since we were 12. _I_ would have accepted you." Tulio waved his arms in an attempt to make up for his hushed volume.

His partner looked away and Tulio suddenly felt guilty for some odd reason. "And what would I have said, hm?" Miguel suddenly returned with a harsh tone. "_Oh, guess what, Tulio? I'm terribly attracted to men and I enjoy going into back alleys with them and-_"

"Yeah, alright, I get your point… okay." Tulio interrupted. "Look… it's just… you know you can trust me, don't you?"

"Of course, I do. I just… couldn't… well, you… you're…" Miguel huffed in frustration. "I wanted to tell you."

"Then why didn't you?" Tulio demanded, also frustrated. "For Christ's sake, I've spent the past few months driving myself insane trying figure out what you've been doing!"

"Well, I've- what?" Miguel's eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"All that _clinging_ to me and the _touching_ and oh! And the _whispering_! You've been driving me mad, you know!" Tulio continued, allowing his voice to rise slightly.

"I- I don't know what you're talking about." His partner replied, crossing his arms and looking away, but Tulio still caught the flush on his cheeks in the pale moonlight.

"Oh, no? Well, lemme clue you in." The dark-haired man slipped behind Miguel, placing his hands on his shoulders and putting his mouth right up to his ear. "You've been _flirting_ with me."

Miguel shuffled around to face Tulio and pushed him away gently, though a grin was creeping onto his face. "Is _that_ what you think? Oh, _heavens_, no." His grin turned into a flirtatious smirk, one Tulio knew all too well, and he continued. "Whatever makes you think you're even my type?"

In lieu of another witty rejoinder, Tulio went for broke and brought his mouth down on Miguel's. His lips still tasted of the sharp, sweet alcohol they'd been drinking and the sensation only intensified when the blonde made a little desperate noise and opened his mouth to the onslaught. They broke apart after a minute or so and Tulio smirked down at his partner. "That seems like a good reason to start with." He purred.

Green eyes narrowed in a momentary pout before he fisted a hand in Tulio's ever-present vest and tugged him back down into another searing kiss. They continued in this fashion, switching in taking the lead, until Miguel made another noise, this time in discomfort. Pulling back, Tulio realized he'd managed to back the blonde across the narrow alley way and walk him right into the wall. "You know, there's a bed in the room we rented back at the inn." He murmured to his partner- or whatever they were, now.

"That sounds fantastic." Miguel grinned and released Tulio's shirt. "We can make up for lost months…"

"Yeah, and I _owe_ you for all that time you spent driving me _mad_." Tulio growled, half predatory, and half simply irritated.

When Miguel merely laughed, pulled Tulio closer as they walked down the moonlit street, and declared that he accepted the challenge, Tulio knew that whatever he had gotten himself into, he wouldn't regret it for a moment.

-/-/-

Author's Note: A bit longer, more scattered, and introspective than I intended, but I'm rather fond of it anyway. It's not too terrible for a first try, I think… Anywho, I really hope you all enjoyed it! Or at least didn't hate it! …Yes.


End file.
